By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was another night to remember for the Tennessee Tech soccer team during Wednesday evening's Ohio Valley Conference Championship Banquet. A year after hauling in a program record and league-leading 10 OVC postseason honors, the Golden Eagles had visions of déjà vu with 10 more conference accolades awarded to the purple and gold to once again lead the league in postseason honors.
Hosted by Tech in Roaden University Center's Multipurpose Room by virtue of securing the regular-season championship and top seed in the OVC Tournament, the Golden Eagles soared to the tune of four first-team selections, one second-team distinction, one All-Newcomer honor and a whole host of the conference's most regarded awards with four "Of the Year" accolades.
Yao Giada Zhou took home her second-straight Ohio Valley Conference Midfielder of the Year award, while Katie Toney was named the OVC Forward of the Year, Neve Renwick was recognized as the league's Freshman of the Year and Steve Springthorpe was selected as the OVC Co-Coach of the Year to pick up Coach of the Year recognition for the second-consecutive season.
Giada Zhou, Toney and Renwick joined Meredith Nye on the All-OVC first team to match the 2000 version of the purple and gold as the only two Tech clubs to place four on the first team in school history. The quartet of Golden Eagles also makes it a ninth-straight year in which TTU has placed at least one on the first team to extend an already program-record run.
Bailey Taylor reserved a spot on the All-OVC second team, while Renwick was named to the OVC All-Newcomer team to round out Tennessee Tech's historical night.
"Congratulations to our team and the players who were first originally nominated and then selected by the coaches and sports information personnel, we are certainly appreciative of all those individuals that voted for our group," TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "We have had a great year so far and a big reason why is how our players have performed throughout the season. As I mentioned to our team yesterday, we will probably get some recognition and individual awards based on the year we have had, and anytime that happens it is a reflection of the entire team and how well we played as a whole. Even though most of these honors are individually based, there are a lot of people involved that had a piece in their success and helped them get to this point. It's an awesome night for our program and I am happy for our players that won these awards as well as our entire team."
An award that began during the 2020-21 spring season, Giada Zhou becomes the first player in conference history to claim the OVC Midfielder of the Year twice. This year's distinction to go along with her second-straight All-OVC first-team selection come on the heels of a regular season that saw the San Michele al Tagliamento, Italy native lead the conference in goals with seven, points with 20 and tied Katie Toney for the most assists in the league thanks to six helpers.
Giada Zhou, who was twice named OVC Offensive Player of the Week throughout the conference campaign, picked up a piece of program history behind her program record-tying seven-point output in a win over Southern Indiana on Sept. 24. The 5-foot-3 senior became the third Golden Eagle to collect seven points in a single match, joining Chloe Smith in the 2022 OVC Tournament semifinals against Lindenwood and TTU Hall of Famer Jill Burns in a victory over Murray State on Oct. 24, 2003.
"Giada had an outstanding year coming off her successful season in 2022," Springthorpe noted. "She played such a pivotal part in us winning a championship and had such an impactful individual year. I think if you look at what she was able to accomplish, it probably surpassed what she did for us last year which is just so impressive. Giada is certainly considered as one of the best players in our conference and I am glad that the coaches and sports information personnel voted for her again to be on the first team and ultimately Midfielder of the Year for a second time."
In the fourth installment of the award, Katie Toney becomes the first-ever Golden Eagle to be named the Forward of the Year after enjoying a banner sophomore season that saw her sit right atop the OVC in most major offensive categories. Toney, who is part of an all-conference squad for the second-straight season after an All-OVC second-team accolade as a freshman, finished the regular season tied for first in the league in assists with six, knotted for second in goals with five and ended the regular year in second in points behind 16 of them.
The McMinnville, Tenn. product heads into the OVC Tournament semifinal with three points in the last two matches thanks to a goal at Morehead State on Oct. 19 and an assist in the regular-season finale against Little Rock on Oct. 22.
"Katie had a tremendous OVC season and really a strong year overall," Springthorpe noted. "She is an attacking personality that creates so many opportunities for our team in the final third, but still has an impact within the course of the entire field as someone who can make a difference on the defensive end as well. It is not uncommon for Katie to try and score a goal one minute and then the next minute you look up and see her on the back line helping out our defense. These honors are so well deserved for her, especially as someone that works as hard as Katie does. She is constantly trying to improve herself and is routinely staying late after practice and showing up early to do whatever is necessary to take her game to the next level. It's awesome to see her get recognized by the conference for her efforts and it is all so well deserving."
Neve Renwick becomes the fifth Golden Eagle in program history to receive the OVC Freshman of the Year award and first since Kris Cambron shared the honor with Murray State's Danielle McMurray in the 2009 season. The Sheffield, England native is also the first Golden Eagle freshman to be named to the All-OVC first team since Kari Naerdemann in 2015, and her OVC All-Newcomer recognition makes it a fourth-consecutive year with a Golden Eagle on the postseason newcomer list.
Renwick wrapped up the regular season tied for second in the OVC with five goals to go along with three assists and 13 points to rank fourth in the league in the points department. The rookie proved to be a strong offensive force with 67 total shots, 16 more than any other player in the conference.
"Neve has been dynamic for us this year and has been such a crucial part of our attack and the success we have been able to generate there," Springthorpe said. "If you look at our attacking four with our three starting forwards as well as Giada in the midfield, they are able to create so much for us offensively and Neve is certainly a huge part of that. Statistically, she may not be at the top of the conference, but I think there is a recognition for most people within the league that Neve is someone who is tough to deal with. Coming in as a freshman you never know how someone will make that adjustment, especially for her coming in as an international player with a completely new environment and culture, but Neve has made a seamless transition and stepped up for us in a big way. We are happy for her well-deserved recognition."
Steve Springthorpe, who shared the OVC Coach of the Year honor with Morehead State's Chris Fox, is now the first Golden Eagle head coach to secure the award twice in a career after his Coach of the Year nod in 2022. The 10th-year Tech head coach is also the second-ever OVC coach to capture the distinction in consecutive seasons and first since Morehead State's Warren Lipka in 2009-10. Qasim Sheikh is the only other Golden Eagle coach to seize the accolade after winning the OVC's first-ever Coach of the Year award in 1998.
Springthorpe helped author Tech to its second-consecutive OVC regular-season title and third overall regular-season crown. Throughout the year, the Golden Eagles tied the 2017 squad for the longest unbeaten streak in program history with nine straight matches without a loss. Tech also tied the OVC's second-longest unbeaten streak in regular-season conference matches behind 21 in a row without a defeat.
"When you get an award like this it means that your team had an exceptional season and that's the most important thing," Springthorpe commented. "Is it about coaching? Sure, maybe some of it is, but ultimately it's always about the players. When the team has success, wins games and plays as well as they have this year, honors happen for individual players, and as we see here, it sometimes happens for coaches as well. I certainly do not take credit for this award. I have an amazing staff that should share in this honor as well. [Associate head coach] Corey [Boyd] has been with me since I started here and is a huge part of what we do. He deserves to share this award with me and then [assistant coach] Jack [Rushworth] and [assistant coach] Chloe [Smith] coming on board have had a great impact as well.
"Jack stepped in here this spring and has taken over certain parts that has allowed Corey and I more freedom, and then has done a great job training our goalkeepers at a high level to go along with a number of other things like scouting reports and video," Springthorpe continued. "Chloe has been a big part of our success as well. She obviously had a tremendous career and a positive relationship with our players, so having her in the mix has been pivotal and I am thankful for that. This is definitely a coaching staff award and not just a single coach award. I am happy that we were recognized for the success that our team has had this year."
Meredith Nye's first-ever All-OVC first-team award puts the senior midfielder in rarified air as only the second player in program history to reserve a spot on an All-OVC postseason team four times, joining Angela Freund who accomplished the feat every year from 1998 through 2001. A three-time All-OVC second teamer, Nye compiled a senior season that saw her collect three goals, one assist and seven points while serving as a crucial part of Tech's midfield.
The Jackson, Tenn. native opened up OVC play in a big way behind her first career two-goal match in a 3-0 victory at Lindenwood on Sept. 21. Nye would go on to play 739 of a possible 810 minutes in conference matches.
"Meredith does a ton for us and is crucial to our success as a team," Springthorpe claimed. "She is another one of those players that is just involved in every part of the game for us. From a defensive perspective, she contributes in a huge way, and then even this year she has been more involved in our attack and has made a difference in that regard. Throughout her career she has been a defensive-minded midfielder who stays at home more, protects the back line, cleans up things in the middle, wins 50/50 balls, but this year her role has expanded more to make plays on the offensive side of the equation. Meredith has been a fantastic player for us for four years and it is nice to see her finally get that first-team honor."
Bailey Taylor's spot on the All-OVC second team is well warranted following a standout swan-song season that saw the senior forward collect five goals to tie for second in the league, four assists to knot for third in the conference and 14 points to rank third in the OVC. Taylor's strong campaign has pushed her to 17 career goals to tie for fifth-most in program history.
The Powell, Tenn. product provided a pair of game-winning scores for the Golden Eagles, including a dramatic goal in the waning moments of regulation in a 3-2 victory over UT Martin on Oct. 12. With the score knotted a 2-2 and less than two minutes left, Taylor split the pipes in the 89th minute to give Tech the thrilling nod in a match that pushed the purple and gold to the precipice of the program's third OVC regular-season title.
"Bailey has had a great career here as a fifth-year player who has stepped up numerous times over the years," Springthorpe said. "I think at the end of last season we thought there was a chance that she was going to graduate and leave the program, but Bailey wanted to come back and give it another go this year which was a decision we were very happy about. She is an important part of our attack and just an overall big part of our program. I think this year might be her best season in her career. She has been playing at a high level all year, helping us out in so many different ways and is a vital part of our attack. Congratulations to Bailey, to go out like this is a great accomplishment for her."
As the top seed in the OVC Tournament for the second-straight season, TTU will host the semifinals and championship match at Tech Soccer Field for the second time in program history. The Golden Eagles will square off with No. 8 Little Rock on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
